The short answer
This one is for an American with AT&T or Verizon who has a week in Lisbon and Porto, or a month there. I read both carriers' roaming pages on 31 October 2026 and set them against five rival travel eSIMs and Ringo Light, priced on 22 October 2026. Portugal is the country where the eSIM beats even a single day of roaming, so I would buy Ringo Light at $8.99 for 3 days, $16.99 for 2 weeks or $26.99 for a month.
Unlimited data at full speed, paid once: 3 days at $8.99, 2 weeks at $16.99 or 30 days at $26.99, where a day pass comes to $36, $168 and $360. Airalo asks $48 for 15 days and $69 for the month.
Its Fofo Mobil plan: 10 GB for 30 days at $11 and 20 GB at $19, riding NOS.
20 GB at full speed for 7 days at $19, then 2 Mbps, and 10 GB for 30 days at $11, on MEO with 5G.
Sold by the day on MEO, NOS and Vodafone, with no daily cap stated for your own phone. A week is $27.50.
Prices read on 22 October 2026: Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, AT&T, Ringo Light, Verizon on their own sites or listings, Ringo Light from its catalogue. All in US dollars unless stated. Treat every number as a snapshot.
See the full price index for every country.
Travelling further? Compare the eSIM for Europe and the best eSIM for Europe, all brands priced.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 22 October 2026. The rivals sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no 15-day unlimited.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Ubigi's month is 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps.
Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days.
Side by side
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Get Ringo Light for Portugal, from $8.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 3 days $8.99
- 2 weeks $16.99
- 30 days $26.99
We sell data eSIMs for now to fund the full Ringo service. Ringo is self funded. Every plan bought here pays for the build of one plan that works everywhere.
Want to keep your own number abroad?
That is the full Ringo service: one plan that works everywhere, with your own number included.
It is a separate product from Ringo Light and it is still being built, so it is not on sale yet. Join the waitlist to hear when it opens.
What to see in Portugal, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most first trips to Portugal include, from Lisbon and Sintra to the Douro valley, the Algarve and Madeira. The cities have strong 4G and 5G, and the valleys and cliffs are where an offline map earns its place.
Roam with your carrier, or buy an eSIM
AT&T's International Day Pass is $12 a day in Portugal, $36 for three days, $168 for two weeks and $360 for a month, read 31 October 2026, against $8.99, $16.99 and $26.99 for Ringo Light's 3 days, 2 weeks and 30 days. Verizon TravelPass lists Portugal at the same $12 a day on the same date.
Portugal is the one place in this set where even a single day of roaming costs more than the eSIM: a day at $12 is above Ringo Light's 3 days at $8.99. The gap is $27.01 on three days, $151.01 on two weeks and $333.01 on a month. Among the rivals, three days is $11 at Nomad, $11.50 at Airalo and $11.90 at Holafly. For 15 days, Ubigi asks $34 for a fixed 30 GB, then 2 Mbps, Airalo $48, Saily $48.99 and Holafly $50.50. For the month, $48 to $73.90.
The carrier still wins a few things, and I would not dismiss them. Your own number keeps ringing, there is nothing to install, and both pages say you pay only on the days the phone is used. If you land, take one taxi and fly out the same evening, I would roam and skip the setup. For anything where the phone is on for two days or more, I would buy the eSIM.
AT&T adds $6 a day for each extra line used the same day. Two of you on one account for two weeks is $18 a day, $252, against two Ringo Light eSIMs at $33.98.
Networks in Portugal, and what changes for a visitor from the United States
Portugal has three networks: MEO, NOS and Vodafone, and all three cover Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve coast well. In the table, Holafly names MEO, NOS and Vodafone, Saily MEO, Vodafone and NOS, Nomad Vodafone and MEO, Ubigi MEO, and Airalo NOS and two others. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. For the cities and the coast, I would not choose on the network.
The difference for you is the billing. AT&T and Verizon charge per day of use on the line you already pay for. AT&T says several included countries used on one day still cost a single daily fee, which helps if you cross into Spain. Verizon gives 5 GB of high-speed data in each 24-hour session, then unlimited data at 3G speeds, and a further 2 GB can be bought for $10 in countries like Portugal. AT&T describes unlimited high-speed data when the pass sits on an Unlimited Plan. The eSIMs run for a fixed number of days from the moment you start them.
Neither carrier page lists a monthly plan for Portugal, so I read the month as thirty days at $12. Both pages say calls inside Portugal and back home are included, though calls to other countries are billed at long-distance rates.
If you want a data bucket: Airalo or Ubigi
- Airalo, $11 for 10 GB. Its Fofo Mobil plan also sells 20 GB for $19, the cheapest 20 GB here that does not renew. The app is needed.
- Ubigi, $11 for 10 GB. The same price on MEO with 5G, installed by QR code with no app.
- Nomad, $16 for 10 GB. 20 GB comes to $20, on Vodafone and MEO.
- Saily, $16.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB comes to $27.99, a price I read on saily.com.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Its 2 weeks is unlimited at $16.99 and its 30 days unlimited at $26.99. For 10 GB that lasts a month, Airalo and Ubigi at $11 are the better buy, and Airalo sells 20 GB for $19. Those are the rival wins, and a light user should take them.
What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is the data eSIM of the company I write for, so weigh my pick with that in mind. It is sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For Portugal it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 3 days at $8.99, 2 weeks at $16.99 and 30 days at $26.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email and installs in one scan, no app.
The eSIM sits beside your own SIM, so your number can keep ringing for calls and texts if you leave roaming on for those. Both carrier pages describe calls as part of the pass. I would keep the SIM in for bank codes and give the data to Ringo Light.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
Ringo Light, 3 days at $8.99, against $36 on either day pass. Even one day of roaming at $12 costs more.
I would roam if setup is a chore. Otherwise Ringo Light at $8.99 is still the cheaper way to cover it.
Ringo Light, $16.99, against $168 on the passes and $34 to $50.50 at the rivals.
Ringo Light, $26.99, against $360 on the passes. The cheapest rival month is Ubigi at $48.
Airalo or Ubigi, 10 GB for 30 days at $11, if you will mostly use maps and tickets.
I would keep the carrier SIM active with roaming on for those, and run the data on the eSIM.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, AT&T, Ringo Light, Verizon, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for Portugal on 22 October 2026, all on the same day, in US dollars. Each rival's price comes from its own website where it showed dollars, otherwise from an esimdb.com listing, and every source and its date is listed below. Ringo Light's prices come from the catalogue our checkout charges.
We compare the trips people actually book: a week, two weeks and a month of unlimited data, and a 10 GB bucket. We read each brand's fair use and speed rules and quote them as the brands state them. We did not run speed tests, so this page makes no speed claims for any brand.
Ringo Light is our own product. We put it in the table on the same terms as everyone else, and where a rival is the better buy the page says so.
Left out: Maya Mobile. We could not read its own prices for this country on the day, so it stays out rather than being guessed.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/portugal-esim?currency=USD, unlimited and buckets in dollars on the site, 22 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-portugal/, dollar price table on its own page, 22 October 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-portugal/, unlimited and buckets in dollars on its own page, 22 October 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/portugal-esim/, dollar prices and networks on its own page, 22 October 2026
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/data-plans-and-coverage/ubigi-esim-data-plans/?destination=prt, dollar prices on its plan pages, 22 October 2026
- AT&T: www.att.com/international/day-pass/, International Day Pass price, additional lines and what it includes, with the destination list at att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1395068/ naming Portugal, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/portugal, the catalogue the checkout charges, read the same day
- Verizon: www.verizon.com/support/travelpass-faqs/, TravelPass FAQ for the daily price, the 5 GB allowance and billing on days used, and the TravelPass countries list at verizon.com/plans/travelpass-countries/ for Portugal at $12 per day, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 22 October 2026.
Written and priced by the Ringo team. Prices change often; if you spot one that has moved, tell us through the contact page and we will update the table.
